7 commuters kidnapped in Osun

Gunmen on Tuesday kidnapped the driver of a commercial bus marked ABJ 635 DC and six of his passengers on the Ilesa/Akure Expressway in Osun State.

It was learnt that the kidnappers, who struck at Iwaraja in Oriade Local Government Area of the state, marched their captives to a nearby forest.

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The spokesperson of the state police command, Yemisi Opalola, confirmed the incident, saying: “Some yet-to-be-identified hoodlums emerged from the bush along the Ilesa/Akure Expressway by Iwaraja forest and opened fire on the bus, flattened its tyres which forced the driver to stop and they abducted the passengers and the driver.

“In the process, six passengers and the driver were abducted; while three passengers escaped. Intensive manhunt underway by police and local hunters and vigilantes to rescue victims and arrest the kidnappers”.